All posts tagged ‘noir’

Meet Lenore. She’s an undead little girl with a 400-year-old vampire friend named Ragamuffin who looks like a doll who’s had most of his haired yanked out. Lenore is good-natured, mostly, so the havoc and death of innocent bystanders around her is usually not on purpose. I loved her instantly.

I’d somehow missed Lenore’s existence until I was asked to take a look at the newest compilation of strips titled Lenore: Swirlies. Yes, the name means exactly what you think it means and follows a line of similarly titled compilations including Noogies, Wedgies, and Cooties. The titles are perfect for the dark, surreal, quirky world that Lenore calls home.

The newest hardcover, Lenore: Swirlies, features full-color reprints of Lenore strips as well as a hilarious author intro in which he contemplates coming up with a new childhood torment so he has a title for the next book. The style is morbid and creepy, but at the same time incredibly funny. Think Tim Burton movies. In fact, the author is currently working on a feature film with his dear demented Lenore, so that’s not far off.

Lenore is accompanied by a wonderful collection of off-kilter characters. There’s Mr. Gosh, who looks like a sock puppet with oversized button eyes, but is actually a dead guy with a sack over his head. He’s completely, utterly obsessed with little Lenore. Also, he lives in Cupcake Castle which is inhabited by Cupcake Munchkins that bake treats like deranged Oompa Loompas.

Another friend is Pooty. He’s got a bucket for a head, or a Jack-O-Lantern at times, and he carries a trident. It’s magical and lets him change into things like ponies. You can not make this stuff up, unless of course you’re author Roman Dirge, in which case it’s your job. Lucky, lucky, guy.

If you like your comics dark and creepy and a little spooky, with squishy brains and crawling bugs, and cupcakes, then pick up a copy of Lenore: Swirlies. The 120-page hardcover retails for $17.95 and will not disappoint, although you may never again look at a sock puppet quite the same way.

The Twenty-Year Death, the debut novel by Ariel S. Winter, is a unique tribute to classic mysteries. It’s actually three separate books that come together to form one story. Each takes place in a different decade and progresses 10 years with each subsequent book. Each is also told in the very familiar style of a well-known author of the genre. Winter begins in the style of Georges Simenon, moves to Raymond Chandler, and finishes it all up with Jim Thompson.

The first book, Malniveau Prison, takes place in France in 1931 and follows Chief Inspector Pelleter as he tries to solve a murder. The second, The Falling Star, takes us to LA in 1941 where a private eye tries to help a young starlet, but may end up taking the fall for a murder. In the third and final book, Police at the Funeral, it’s 1951 and the story has moved to Maryland where the characters that were loosely connected during the previous two books finally come together in a cohesive story.

Each story stands on its own, with a conclusive ending, but the characters that appear and reappear are what bind the stories together. Initially in the background, American writer Shem Rosencrantz appears on the edges of the first two stories only to emerge into the spotlight and take the stories to their final conclusion in the the third book. Throughout, Winter manages to capture the styles of the authors he chooses to mimic — not perfectly — but with an accuracy that shows his love of the genre.

The Twenty-Year Death is available on Kindle for $7.99 and in a $25.99 hardcover edition. It’s sure to provide hours of enjoyable reading for mystery fans looking to while away the time this summer.